While Shawn Carter was charged just yesterday with murdering his mother and brother in Belmont nearly two months ago, court documents show prosecutors filed an arrest affidavit in the case on June 12.

Carter has been incarcerated on a driving offense since hours after his relatives were found dead on May 24 inside the Sunset Drive home they all shared. Today at Carter’s arraignment on the murder charges, his lawyer said Carter has “essentially floundered” in jail on a $200 cash bail while being given no information about the case against him.

“There may have been an arrest warrant in place all of this time,” attorney Jesse Friedman said at the hearing in Franklin’s district court. “Which means that all of the time that has gone on since June 12, my client has been sitting on the other charges when the state clearly has had information in relation to these new charges today.”

Senior Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Strelzin, though, told the judge that the driving offense is completely separate from the homicide investigation and said Carter has been incarcerated because “he killed the two people who could post bail for him.”

“That’s not the state’s issue,” Strelzin said.

The judge ordered Carter to be held without bail. A probable cause hearing will be held July 22.

Carter has been charged with four counts of second-degree murder that account for alternative theories of what prosecutors believe his mental state was at the time of the murders. One set accuses him of committing the crimes knowingly while the other alleges he acted recklessly with an indifference to the value of human life.

According to the charges, 59-year-old Priscilla Carter died from chop wounds to her head and blunt impact to her “trunk.” Tim Carter, 39, died from chop wounds to his head, torso and extremities, according to the charges.

(Tricia L. Nadolny can be reached at 369-3306 or tnadolny@cmontior.com or on Twitter at @tricia_nadolny.)

UPDATE 8:55 a.m.: Due to a scheduling conflict, Shawn Carter will be arraigned at 1 p.m. today in Franklin’s district court. He was previously expected to be arraigned at 9 a.m. in Laconia’s district court. Check concordmonitor.com for updates this afternoon. ------------------------------------ The Belmont man incarcerated on a driving offense while state officials investigated the hacking deaths of his mother …

The man whose mother and brother were found hacked to death in Belmont in May has been charged with second-degree murder. Shawn Carter, 31, will be arraigned tomorrow morning in Laconia's district court in connection to the deaths of his mother, 59-year-old Priscilla Carter, and brother, 39-year-old Timothy Carter. Shawn Carter has been incarcerated on a driving offense since just …